Project description
Exploring Nature's Microbial Arsenal to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic resistance and the scarcity of new drug discoveries pose a threat to global health, as microbial pathogens evolve more rapidly than treatments can be developed. Addressing this urgent need requires the search for novel bioactive compounds. Traditional methods often neglect potential sources of new drugs, particularly within lesser-known microbial genera. This oversight necessitates innovative approaches to uncover hidden pharmacological treasures. The PhyloDRS project, supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, leverages 2D and 3D cell cultures to investigate the genomic landscape of underexplored actinobacterial genera. Utilising state-of-the-art sequencing and cultivation techniques, the project aims to stimulate the production of cryptic metabolites. Through advanced analytical chemistry, new bioactive compounds will be identified and tested, enhancing the discovery of valuable pharmaceuticals.
Objective
The project titled, 'Phylogenomic-driven Drug Discovery from Rhodococcus and Saccharomonospora using 2D and 3D Cell Cultures' aims to explore the microbial diversity and genomic landscape of two important, yet somewhat neglected, natural product producing actinobacterial genera, Rhodococcus and Saccharomonospora. Symbiotic systems and unique habitats will serve as isolation sources of novel species, and I will employ state-of-the-art sequencing techniques to perform a comprehensive in depth phylogenomic analysis to fully depict their biocatalytic repertoire and by doing so, unravel their unique natural product potential. I will spearhead the establishment of novel 2D and 3D cultivation techniques with ecomimetic properties to mimic natural scenarios and thereby trigger the production of cryptic metabolites. I will employ sophisticated dereplication and chemical analytical strategies to characterize and structurally elucidate novel chemical entities with drug-like scaffolds. Based on these results, I will be able to test all of the identified natural products for their pharmacological properties within the framework of the Helmholtz drug discovery pipeline and collaboration partners. My targeted and interdisciplinary research approach will allow me to gain valuable genomic and evolutionary insights and streamline the discovery of pharmaceutically valuable natural product scaffolds.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
38124 Braunschweig
Germany